Envelope hopper



y 1969 F. A. HAMANN 3,446,497

. ENVELOPE HOPPER Filed Oct. 7. 1966 FIG. I

30 I6 ll 2 INVENTOR. FREDERIC A. HAMANN ATTORNEY Sheet '013 May 27, 1969 F. A. HAMANN 3,445,497

' ENVELOPE HOPPER Filed Oct. 7, 1966 Sheet 3 of 5 FIG. 2'

FIG. 3

INVEN'JOR.

FRED ERIC A. HAM ANN way-4x4 ATTORNEY F. A. HAMA'NN ENVELOPE HOPPER May 27, 1969 Filed Oct.

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INVIIN'I'OR. FRE DERIC A. HAMANN BY ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,446,497 ENVELOPE HOPPER Frederic A. Hamaun, 2219 N. Brookfield, South Bend, Ind. 46628 Filed Oct. 7, 1966, Ser. No. 585,070 Int. Cl. B65h 1/06, 3/08 US. Cl. 271-32 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to a hopper and more particularly to a hopper for feeding flat sheet-like material or matter, such as envelopes, into a stuffing machine or the like.

Newspapers and magazines are often printed, out and folded, and then stuffed with a variety of different materials, such as magazine supplements, advertising circulars and mailing envelopes for use in sending orders for articles, such as photographic film, to the advertiser or processor. The material inserted in the papers in the stuffing operation often varies in size over a wide range and hence, for the printer to be able to utilize the various size materials, a number of different size hoppers are required. The hopper for performing the stufiing or feeding operation is mounted on the stuifer machine and the material to be inserted in the papers is withdrawn from the lower part and dropped into the papers as they pass beneath the'hopper after they have been opened to receive the material. The various sizes of the materials not only create a storage problem for the various size hoppers, but also require mounting, installing and adjusting the hopper each time material of a different size is to be fed into the stufiing machine. It is therefore one of the principal objects of the present invention to provide a hopper for a paper stuffing machine which is so constructed and arranged that it can readily be installed on the machine and adjusted to envelopes and other flat material over a wide range of sizes and which, because of its adaptability and versatility, can be either permanently installed or readily mounted and removed as required.

Another object of the invention is to provide an adjustable hopper for a paper stufiing machine, which is relatively simple in construction and easily handled in installing it on the machine and removing it therefrom, and which is so constructed that it can be easily fabricated and assembled and disassembled and stored in a compact space.

A further object is to provide a hopper of the aforesaid type, which can quickly be adjusted when the size of the material to be fed into the stuffer is to be changed without changing the position of the hopper in the machine, and which can be effectively inspected from time to time for operation and amount of material therein, and easily supplied with additional material for continuous feeding without shutting down the stuffing machine.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the present 3,446,497 Patented May 27, 1969 hopper showing it mounted on a stuffing machine and containing a stack of envelopes being fed into a newspaper in the machine;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational vie-w of the present adjustable hopper;

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the hopper, showing it removed from the stufling machine;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the hopper shown in the preceding figures;

FIGURE 5 is a rear elevational view of the hopper;

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the adjustable sides, showing the manner in which the adjustment is made; and

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken on line 77 of FIGURE 2.

Referring more specifically to the drawings and t0 FIGURE 1 in particular, numeral 10 designates generally the present adjustable hopper, 12 a newspaper stuffing machine having a frame 14, a feeder platform 16 on which the hopper is mounted, and a traveling rack 18 in which newspapers 20 are placed and opened for receiving envelopes or other material from hopper 10. The material to be fed is removed from the bottom of the hopper as a single sheet or envelope 22 by a suction device 24 mounted on pivoted lever 26 operated by a rotatable cam 28. As each individual envelope is pulled downwardly by the suction device, a finger 30 mounted on rotatable carrier 32 clamps the edge of an envelope against the periphery of carrier 32 and pulls the envelope from the bottom of the stack, and upon further rotation, drops it into the opened paper, as illustrated by numeral 34. The mechanism relative to the stuifer machine is, for the purpose of the present description, considered conventional in construction and operation and will not be described in detail herein.

The present hopper consists of a front plate 40 having upper and lower horizontal slots 42 and 44 extending a substantial distance across the face of the plate. The rear side of the plate forms the front wall of the hopper for retaining the envelopes in position on feeder platform 16. The hopper is provided with sidewalls generally indicated by numerals 46 and 48 adjustable laterally to and from one another along the rear side of plate 40. Since the two walls are the same in construction, the same numerals are given to the corresponding member of each sidewall with a prime being added to the numeral for sidewall 48. Each of the two sidewalls consists of vertical inner members 50 adjustably secured to the plate by screws 52 and 54 extending through the members and through slots 42 and 44, respectively. The screws, when tightened, hold member 50 rigidly against the rear side of the plate. Upper and lower bars 56 and 58 are rigidly mounted in member 50 and are retained therein by set screws of any other suitable securing means. Mounted on bars 56 and 58 is an intermediate vertical member or post 60 and an outer vertical member or post 62, the two members being held in place by set screws 64 and 66, respectively, extending into and engaging the rods.

Since feed platform 16 slopes forwardly, i.e. toward the gripping mechanism of carrier 32, bars 56 and 58 are positioned at an angle so that the intermediate and outer members 60 and 62 will be adjusted angularly, i.e. upwardly when they are adjusted rearwardly, or dowwardly when they are adjusted toward plate 40. Member 62 projects inwardly a substantial distance, i.e. toward the corresponding member on the opposite side and inwardly beyond the corresponding edges of members 50 and 60, in order to form, in effect, a rear flange 67 which engages the rear side of the stack of envelopes or other material being fed into the machine.

Secured to the lower edge of plate 40 is a roller or rod 68 forming a slightly inwardly protruding arcuate shoulder, extending substantially the full length of the plate. The rounded, inwardly extending shoulder or ledge supports the forward edge of the envelopes or other sheet material in the hopper but permits the bottom envelope or sheet to be easily removed by suction device 24 while the rest of the stack of material remains supported, as illustrated in FIGURE 7.

The entire device is supported rigidly on feed platform 16 by a bracket 70 secured to the opposite lower corners of plate 40 on the front thereof and to a portion of the frame of the stuffing machine 12. A sheet or envelope separating element 72, consisting principally of a thin, pointed, blade-like member 74 is secured by a bracket '76 at the bottom of plate 40 and is so positioned with respect to the bottom of the stack that it projects inwardly beyond the inner lower edge of the stack. This blade assists in separating the lowermost sheets or envelopes when suction device 24 pulls the sheet or envelope downwardly.

In the use of the present adjustable hopper, after it has been mounted in position on the stuffing machine, vertical members 50 and 50' are adjusted laterally from. one another, preferably an equal distance from the center of the plate to provide the space between the two members 50 and 50 and 60 and 60 sufiicient to retain the material in the stack in vertical alignment without binding the sides of the material. Members 62 and 62' are then adjusted longitudinally along bars 56 and 58 and 56 and 58, respectively, so that the margin 67 and 67' of the two members forms a frame along the rear side of the stack of material to confine and guide the material and retain the sheets thereof in vertical alignment. Members 60 and 60 are preferably spaced approximately an equal distance between respective members 50 and 50 in front and members 62 and 62' in the rear. In making the adjustment, set screws 64 and 66 are loosened and the two members slipped along the bars to the desired position and then the screws are firmly tightened. This adjustment is maintained as long as the particular size material is being fed into the stufiing machine; however, when a material of a different size is to be fed through the machine, the adjustment is readily performed in the manner just described, and this adjustment procedure can be easily performed without removing the hopper from the machine.

In view of the ease with which the adjustments can be made to accommodate a relatively large range of material sizes, the hopper can, in effect, be permanently installed on the machine and the adjustments thereafter made to accommodate the various size material as required. The plate, rods and vertical members are preferably made of metal, but may be made of any other suitable material, including wood or plastic, and a different number of intermediate vertical members may be used if desired.

While only one embodiment of the present adjustable hopper has been described in detail herein, various changes and modifications may be made Without departing from the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An adjustable hopper for feeding envelopes and similar material to a stuifing machine or the like, comprising a vertically positioned plate forming the front of said hopper, two elongated vertically positioned members mounted on the inner side of said plate, means for adjusting said members laterally with respect to one another, a plurality of spaced support members joined rigidly to each of said first two members and projecting generally horizontally therefrom in the direction away from said plate, an elongated vertically positioned post mounted on each of said support members and extending toward the corresponding vertical post a greater distance than said first-mentioned vertical members to form a rear flange for guiding the stack of material placed in the hopper, an intermediate post disposed between the vertical member and the first-mentioned post on each side of the hopper, and means for releasably securing each of said posts along the respective support members for adjustment toward and away from said plate, said vertical and support members and said posts forming a rigid structure with said plate, adjustable horizontally to receive various rectangular-shaped envelopes and similar material.

2. An adjustable hopper as defined in claim 1, in which said support members consist of two spaced substantially horizontally positioned bars.

3. An adjustable hopper as defined in claim 2, in which said bars are positioned at an angle extending slightly upwardly and away from said plate.

4. An adjustable hopper as defined in claim 3, in which an element for separating the bottom layer from the next layer thereabove in the stack of material is positioned near the lower edge of said plate between said vertical members.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 920,154 5/1909 Kent 271-32 1,067,475 7/1913 Engel 27186 1,081,050 12/1913 Kruse.

1,691,576 11/1928 Labarre 21150 EVON C. BLUNK, Primary Examiner. 'MATTHEW L. AJEMAN, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

